A local senior services agency may rescue a companion program from going under as the program’s sponsor, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of McHenry County, prepares to shift its attention solely to youth.
The Senior Companion Program is in danger of being eliminated a year from now from the county Big Brothers/Big Sisters budget. The program pairs seniors with younger volunteers to form friendships that cross generational lines.
In an attempt to continue the program, Marie Frostman, executive director of the McHenry County Big Brothers/Big Sisters met last week with representatives of Senior Services Associates Inc. in McHenry, which may take over the program.
The changeover would be complete by June 1996, when Big Brothers/Big Sisters is expected to exhaust locally-raised funds and the $4,000 grant allocated for the program this month by United Way of McHenry County.
Frostman said Big Brothers/Big Sisters won’t seek funding for the senior program in the 1996-97 fiscal year, because the organization plans to redefine its mission to provide one-on-one mentoring for youth.
“There’s an increasing need in the county, especially in one-parent families,” for that type of youth service, she said.
By directing its resources toward children, Big Brothers/Big Sisters will eliminate the need for a staff member to work 10 hours a week monitoring the matches between seniors and volunteers.
Frostman said she met for an hour Friday at Senior Services’ office in McHenry with Senior Services executive director Bette Schoenholtz, who oversees offices in McHenry, Elgin, Aurora and Yorkville, and Leslie Edstrom, the group’s McHenry County coordinator.
“We are looking for an agency with expertise in senior issues to continue our senior program,” Frostman said. “We will assist the agency with the screening of volunteers and support service . . . to make the transition as smooth as possible.”
The transfer would take place after the approval of Senior Services Associates’ board of directors, which is expected to discuss the matter at its June 28 meeting, Schoenholtz said. After that, the decision would rest with the board of Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
Schoenholtz said she hoped United Way would still fund the program if her agency takes over.
The companion program would “fit in perfectly” with the wide range of assistance that the agency lends to the elderly, such as obtaining food stamps, housekeeping services and home-delivered meals, she said.
“We’ll have case workers available who can provide a comprehensive assessment of their needs,” Schoenholtz said.
If Senior Services adopts the Senior Companion Program, it will inherit 15 existing matches between seniors and volunteers and an additional 40 seniors who are waiting to be hooked up with a volunteer.
The program was founded in 1991, when it joined the youth group known as Kinship, which became affiliated with the national organization Big Brothers/Big Sisters in 1993.
Volunteers are asked to spend from one to three hours a week with the seniors. Most visits take place in the seniors’ homes, Frostman said.
